One of One
by zofiaguh
Summary: As the Link and Zelda make their way through Hyrule as they prepare to rebuild their lost kingdom they the only solace is each other but as as quickly as they grasp this, something threatens to take it away. There is a secret that has been passed down through Sheikah, kept from the Hero of Time and Princess. (Post BOTW)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own, in anyway, the Legend of Zelda series.**

 **asjdflj ofc**

* * *

 **Chapter One - Side by Side**

Side by side, their horses walk. Side by side they look upon the expanse of Hyrule field. The luscious green grass blows gently in the wind, which carries a fresh scent. A free scent. One free of burden. Side by side, and yet…not a word passed between them.

Link turned slowly to see Zelda take a deep breath, smiling deeply. _Perhaps no words needed to be spoken? Perhaps this would be enough,_ Link wondered. The horses shifted impatiently beneath the two riders, a gentle reminder that they needed to get going, but, however gently, Zelda's smile faded.

Their journey would take around a week. Surely soon they would have to exchange words. They were both filled with questions, however the thought of revealing answers brought fear to them both, and so it was easier just to escape to the tranquil beauty of Hyrule.

Their horses walked on, eager to finish their journey before the day darkened and the traveler would grow weary. Zelda seemed content to Link, enjoying the sights she hadn't seen for over a hundred years. She marvelled in the differences _and_ the similarities to the Hyrule she used to know. He was often tempted to ask, however whenever felt the temptation, his heart would quicken and his fists would tighten. So s _ide by side_ they continued.

The sky plunged from a clear blue sky into a dark purple, quicker than Link had expected. He knew he would have to speak. They needed rest. Once again he felt the pace of his heart speed up and his knuckles turn white, however this was a matter of his duty. He cleared his throat.

'Princess,' Link coughed up, surprised by his weak voice, 'I think it would be wise if we set up camp?' The princess seemed flustered, clearly surprised by his sudden decision to break the silence, but she smiled none the less. They would have to speak soon.

'Yes.' she said still smiling shyly. Her smile, her perfect, imperfect smile was just what Link needed to release the tension in his knuckles and let go of the breath he didn't even know he was holding. Goddesses, he was certain this smile could bring him warmth to even the most remote places of Hebra mountains.

He nodded to a small sheltered, cave-like area. They silently tied their horses before Link quickly went to gather firewood. Link was relieved to be away from his princess. With her nearby, he seemed to tense up. Just the thought of talking to her brought a lump to his throat. _But why? Why is it so hard to even speak to her. She's the only tie I have left to my past. So why?_

Perhaps he was afraid of knowing the past. Perhaps she still loathed his presence. Perhaps she couldn't stand that the only tie _she_ had left to her past was the person she hated mos-

He couldn't allow these thoughts to taint what little bond they had together.

He trudged slowly back to the makeshift camp when he heard a soft … the sound of someone softly sniffing.

* * *

As Zelda watched her Hero walk away she felt distraught. He hadn't even bothered to tell her where he was going. She could only assume that he went to gather firewood. But what if he had left him? What if he had left her to fend for herself. _No that's stupid_ she concluded. Link's horse is still here.

She looked over to his steed and felt a pang of sadness. Epona was long gone, and so was her own horse. Though it was foolish to think, she could help feel resentful to the goddesses for not even granting the simple pleasure of their old horse companions.

She sighed, turning toward the shelter. She slumped down, ungracefully, hugging her knees in despair. Everything she ever knew was gone, forever out of reach. And every fragment of her memories, every image of the people she once knew, every sight, every embrace, every emotion had become nothing but a painful memory. As silent tears fell down her face, hot and fast she lowered her head into her hands.

Her heart ached feverishly for the embrace of someone from her past. The warmth of her father's arms around her, the aroma of the palace as she woke up in the morning, the chorus of the sounds of the busy people of Hyrule castle.

And then, all at once but not without great care, her hero embraced her. At first it was gentle, a reminder that someone was here but it suddenly grew tighter, as if he was afraid to let her go and she too felt this pain, his loneliness, his loss and his longing. Zelda slowly lifter her arms up in reply. She felt his firm back flinch in surprise, before hearing his heart relax.

And it was then that Zelda wailed. She cried loud and hard. She cried for her friends and the people she didn't know who had fallen to Calamity, but also in envy for the life she never had. And they stayed their, crouched in their embrace, comforting each other; _side by side_.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **So first of all...**  
 **THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS alsjdflajfd (much gratefulness)**  
 **This is actually my second attempt at this story because I felt like... the last one... (which i deleted - it had the same title) would be hard to pick up from.**  
 **Please tell me what you think and how to improve :3 I have big plans for this so I hope it can go far!**  
 **ALSO thank you again!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 - In that moment**

His princess had stopped crying and now was sleeping soundly on his shoulder. He gently lay her down to rest on a makeshift bed, constructed from his various items of clothing. As she lay there he still felt the warm of her body against his, how right it had felt and how wrong it had been too. He knew it was improper but he attempted to ease his mind, telling himself that it wasn't unfamiliar to them.

He didn't have many memories of his past but the moments he did remember were burned into his head, almost painfully. Each memory left an infinite amount of questions, many, many more than had been answered, and in pained him to think he could never obtain them. It was the lack of emotions in each memory that hurt the most. The idea that no matter how hard he tried, he could feel nothing for the people he had left behind.

His memory of the moment he and Zelda had shared in the forest; he could see clearly remember the pouring rain that left him skin soaked through to the bone. He could clearly feel the way his clothes weighed him down, as if he were made of rocks.

He remembered how he held his princess' hand in his own, how he felt that he wouldn't let her go, no matter what. And then… he remembered that he did. That he did let her go. And not just in that moment, but when the Yiga Clan found her near Kara Kara Bazaar or when he… failed her at Hateno fort.

He didn't need emotions to recognise his failures. His duty was to protect her… and he failed… probably countless times.

Shaking himself out of this mindset he got up, and perched himself near the entrance of their shelter, reclining back against the rock. _Sleep well my princess._ He thought, _you've been through so much… I can only hope you rest well tonight._

* * *

 _Darkness. Darkness. Darkness. Darkness. Darkness. Darkness._

 ** _SCREECH_**

 _Silence silence silence silence._

 _The silence was thick and heavy, it was only there to give her the false sense of security before-_

 ** _SCREECH_**

 _-before she heard that._

 _The darkness was only there so that she would have no way of knowing where the horrific 'screech' came from as well as the accompanying moaning. Except she knew what the moaning was. It was the synthesised noises of… of the people she knew. Sometimes it wasn't moaning. Sometimes it was a desperate plead for help, sometimes it was an agonising, angry cry of hate._

 _But what hurt the most was when she could hear the happiness. When she heard the happiness of her friends that she knew they never had. And all of these noises were part of Ganon's despicable attempt to force her to lose faith._

 _'Z-zel…', a shaky voice breathed, '…p-please', she heard a grunt and then a heavy cough, 'h-help me.' She had known well before she heard the voice who was speaking. She shut her eyes. No she didn't want to see it. She didn't have to see anything to remember every cut, every drop of blood or his startlingly blue eyes glaze over or his shaking hand rise up t- 'Zelda!' The voice grew more desperate, more angry. Ganon was losing patience, and the voice was losing authenticity. 'ZELDA!'_

 ** _SCHREECH_**

 _Her eyes flew open and she was staring face to face with a hideous, demonic beast. With sudden realisation she cried 'IT'S OVER!' and inhaled sharply, 'Link has slain you! You are NOTHING but a dream. A memory.' She spat._

 ** _SCHREECH_**

 _All fell silent. Without warning she felt hot breath down her neck and she reeled back in horror._

 _The room filled with a deep cackling, growing louder and more deafening as every second passed by. And then a stomach-turning voice, foul and slimy whispered into her ear;_

 ** _'You haven't escaped yet, princess.'_**

The darkness disappeared as she woke up with a start, staring into a familiar pair of blue eyes.

* * *

Zelda was sweating furiously, her fists clenched so hard, her knuckles were white. Although she had been sleeping for some hours, her eyes bore into his with obvious exhaustion. Link looked her over with concern, it wasn't exactly unexpected that she would have nightmares, considering she'd spent over a century alone, save for the very essence of hatred, but it tore him apart to see that she couldn't find the rest she deserved.

He rubbed her arms in an attempt to bring comfort her while she regained her senses, but she continued to look ahead, dazed. She looked so… melancholic, perhaps a mix of sadness, anger and… confusion? It was some minutes before she focused her gaze once more. The sadness in her eyes intensified as the glazed over with tears.

'Princess,' he said as softly as he could, 'It's ok… whatever dream you were having… it wasn't real. You're here with me now. We're safe. You're safe.' He was rambling now, quite uncharacteristically.

'Oh, Link,' she cried as she flung her delicate, pale arms around his neck. 'I was so scared, it was dark, and he kept… he kept showing me things… these horrible things…' Link stroked her hair sympathetically. 'It was just like… then… in the castle. Please Link! I don't know what's real anymore.' Each word intensified his need to break protocol, to comfort her in anyway he could, to show her emotions he never knew he had.

'Princess… I promise you… that as long as I'm still here, I will protect you, no matter the cost, from anything and everything.'

'But that's the thing!' She sniffed. 'You left me! You… died. And I was all alone.' She lifted her head to look into his eyes. 'And I'm so scared it will happen again…'

Guilt enveloped him, suffocating him. 'I'm- I'm sorry.' He looked away, the pain in his chest grew heavy. When he turned back, he stared into her eyes and tried to put on a weak smile. 'Then… I promise I'll be there… even through death.' And in that moment, he really believed it. He believed, no matter what stood in his way, he would be there for her, because she in that moment, her eyes seemed to brighten. She was so baffled by his assertion, she was elated. And in that moment, she believed him too.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thanks so much for reading ;3;**

 **Please don't hesitate to point out any mistakes, grammatical or factual :3**

 **So, right now, im planning for the story to go way deeper... so imma excited. And also i want to start writing longer chapters but I dunno... it's hard... :)**

 **THANK YOU FOR READING OK BYE ADFLKJL**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Link woke to the chirping of birds. As his eyes fluttered open he saw leaves dancing in the morning light and the swaying of a rose, he heard the slow trickle of a nearby steam and the shuffling of various forest creatures. But even the beautiful forest before him was no match to his Princess.

Her second attempt at sleeping had not been in vain. She still slept soundly, her hands beneath her head, an angelic smile plastered on her lips. He fought the urge to pull a strand of hair out of her face in fear of waking her up.

His eyes caught sight of a birds nest in a neighbouring tree. _Mmm…_ he licked his lips.

* * *

 _Eggs…_

 _Zelda ran a hand over her face. Eggs…_

 _Eggs?_

She slowly raised herself up onto her elbows, breathing in deeply. Before she could say anything, a groan erupted from her belly. Link turned to her from her his cooking pot, grinning mischievously. Goddesses it had been a while since she'd seen him smile like that. Actually… not just a while… a century. The thought sent her heart quickening in both elation and sadness. _A whole century without his smile._

'Good morning,' he said, still smiling.

'G-Good morning,' she returned the smile. Zelda got up, untangling herself from Link's clothes. _Link's clothes…_ Her heart picked up it's pace, though she was not sure why. 'Eggs?' She inquired with a grin.

Link held up a finger in reply before quickly scurrying over with a plate of fried eggs.

They smelled… they smelled like home.

* * *

Zelda couldn't stand the silence anymore. Though the eggs were delicious and she _was_ grateful for Link's company she just wasn't a silent person.

'So Link,' he lifted his head toward her, his mouth crammed full of eggs. At the sight, she chuckled as he blushed. The sight was so innocent. No matter how powerful Ganon was, she could confidently say that he was never able to conjure up an image of innocence. Perhaps it was foreign to Ganon. She wondered if Link still remembered how to 'properly act' but she cast the thought away. She cleared her throat, awkwardly.

'When will be setting off then?'

'Uhh…yes,' he said, quickly swallowing his eggs, still embarrassed, 'I reckon it would take us… around a day to reach Kakariko village from here… and that's counting any breaks we make.'

'Oh… ok.' Just a one last day before she would be suffocated in the politics of her broken country. She suddenly felt the weight of responsibility press down on her shoulders and she grew heavy with exhaustion, despite just having woken up. 'Maybe we could take it slow?'

Sensing her obvious hesitance, he raised a sympathetic eyebrow. 'If you'd like… I can take you somewhere else first?'

She had time. She had a chance to escape the pressure of royalty. She had time to spend with her Hero. 'Really?!' She squealed, 'But where?'

'Well… I was thinking… we could take a detour and head to Kakariko village through Duelling Peaks, and on the way we could visit the shrine. The shrine is surrounded by these beautiful flowers in a spiral, I think you'd love it! But there's this woman and I'm not sure if she'd let —' She tuned out, he was practically beaming, his smile, far more captivating than the picture he painted, however magical. His smile was infectious, and although she had little to know knowledge of what he was actually saying, his pure excitement was unmistakable, also was also incredibly contagious.

* * *

It was gorgeous. The sight, the smells…. Everything was… perfect. As Zelda inhaled the sweet smelling air, her eyes absorbing the sight before her. It seemed each flower was beckoning to her, to smell each individual scent. The sound of the plants brushing against each other in the wind was music to her ears, which no musician on the earth could replicate.

It was little after midday now, the sun high and proud in the sky casting a brilliant glow on the flowers. Link could only marvel in her appreciation of the sight. However beautiful he remembered the flowers to be, still they could never top the Princess, who seemed even more impossibly radiant surrounded by, likely, one of the most beautiful gardens in the world.

Link had been worried that the woman—Magda- wouldn't let them through. While he was cooking the eggs in the morning he had been conflicted over whether to ask her to come, and, even if she did accept, Magda might've forbidden them to go, and he couldn't bear let her down. He was bubbling with excitement when an opportunity arose.

He felt a little guilty for taking advantage of her reluctance to reach Kakariko village, but he truly did believe that she needed a break. The lone memory of them close to Salari hill had surfaced. He wanted so badly to experience what he should've felt in that memory. He wanted to see her research. He wanted to see her happy.

To his relief, Zelda was ecstatic. She bent down examining each and every flower with a delicate touch. Magda was standing by her side, perhaps checking to see if Zelda held her hand on the petals too long, but it was in vain as the princess' touch was like no other and betrayed the utmost care. Or perhaps she let Zelda touch the flowers purely because she had recognised Zelda was royalty.

In actual fact, it was neither and although, Magda hated to admit it, she had become immune to visitors examining flowers after witnessing the hell Link had rained upon them some months ago. She shook her head in disbelief.

'And… my princess,' she curtly turned her head toward Link, '… you _know_ this _boy?'_ Her expression had turned somewhat shocked as the princess nodded her head enthusiastically.

'Yes!' She replied, not daring to tear away her eyes from the garden. Link shifted a little. 'Why do you ask?'

'Oh… it's just…' Magda looked flustered, clearly she had not expected further questioning. 'well this _boy_ tried to _behead_ my flowers!' Link battled against the pink that threatened to appear on his cheeks and he fought back a retort.

'I truly am sorry for any disturbance I may have caused.'

'O Link, there's no need to act so serious, Magda is clearly trying to humour me.' She waved him off but not before she caught the utter surprise that flashed across Magda's face for a brief second. 'Link,' she said, mocking a scold, smiling cheekily as she finally looked up to him from the flowers, 'you didn't dare touch these flowers, did you?'. Magda puffed out her chest, proudly, practically emanating satisfaction of the fact that Link was going to get what he deserved.

'Er…' he stammered uneasily. 'You're not hearing the context my Princess.' He couldn't help the goofy smile that tugged at his lips.

'Well perhaps, _Hero,_ you will give me the context in the future?' She smile played on her lips, teasing him, but to his relief, she returned back to her study of the flowers and he began to relax, lulled into a tranquil state by the calm breeze and the sound of Zelda humming and murmuring to herself.

* * *

The sun had begun to set, it's fading rays casting a rose tinged glow on Hyrule. Zelda couldn't help but sneak a glance at her Hero. She kept feeling an inexplicable urge to check if he was still there… still tangible… still the Hero she had known. So it was then that she chose to ask again:

'How much do you really remember?' Link was clearly startled, producing a hesitant mumble before fully processing what she was saying.

'What exactly do you mean, my Princess.' He managed, still unsure of exactly what she meant.

'What I meant was…' she sighed in frustration. Zelda felt responsible for Link losing his memories. No matter how she tried to justify her actions, she kept coming back to the conclusion that it was her fault she had lost his memories because she hadn't been able to awaken her powers in time therefore it was her fault that… that he died.

'If you mean, did the pictures work, they did.' Link broke the silence she hadn't realised had arisen.

'Really?' She hadn't doubted Impa's advice to take the pictures but that didn't stop her heart from fluttering.

'Yes. It wasn't just that I got to regain all of those memories, I also got to experience Hyrule… in a fuller way that wouldn't have been possible without your help.' He gave her a encouraging smile. Zelda sat up a little higher, her body suddenly feeling light and refreshed.

'I'm glad, that I could be of assistance,' she said, breaking into a smile, 'and if you'd like… I could take you to…other places… other places that might help you regain your memory,' she added shyly. Link looked up at her in surprise.

'But, with all do respect, my Princess, you do not know this Hyrule… I can only imagine how much it has changed within the century.'

'Sir Link,' she replied, emphasising the formality of which she addressed him, 'I think that I can recognise at some of the geography of my country. And besides, if I don't, I'm sure you can help me a little.' Zelda cast him a teasing look and Link countered it with an equally mocking smile.

'Well of course my Princess.'

They fell back into silence again but princess had still felt her question was unanswered.

'Do you remember anything else from anything other than the pictures?'

Link face contorted in confusion. 'Well when I went to find the Divine Beasts, I did regain several other memories… At Zora's Domain, the statue of Mipha provoked a memory of us…' his voice trailed off. 'The thing is, in every memory I've regained, I feel as though I'm just… a spectator of the life I used to have, as if I never actually experienced it. I don't feel the familiarity I'd except from a memory.'

Link looked over to see Zelda's face had become distant and he instantly regretted saying anything. She bit her lip; _No, she hadn't helped at all, she'd just caused him more pain._

'I'm sorry Link.'

'My Princess,' he hurriedly responded, 'you have _nothing_ to be sorry about.' He hated how she took responsibility for things that weren't in her control… or anyone's control for that matter. _Why did she have to suffer?_ They rode in silence for the duration of their journey, each other's thoughts clouded with guilt.

* * *

When night had fallen, the Zelda was sore and tired, not used to the constant travelling and although Link had purposefully been travelling slowly in the hope that Zelda would feel most comfortable, she was exhausted and was eager to lay her head.

Link watched as the Zelda lazily eyes the flames of the fire before them, 'My Princess,' he started, 'I need you to know that, although I haven't recovered my memories fully, the pictures were, truly, more than I could've hoped for and I can't thank you enough for what you've done; so, thank you.'

Zelda continued to stare at the fire. 'Thank you.' She replied, barely audibly. Link decided he should best put his attention to making the beds, however much he wanted to assure his Princess that he was immensely grateful.

After carefully arranging his softest tunics in a way he hoped pleased Zelda, he idly leaned against a tree and Zelda nimbly made her way over to the makeshift bed, laying her head on her folded hands.

'Link?' She called, suddenly.

'Yes, my Princess?'

'Do you mind if you…' she hesitated, blushing slightly. _That's strange_ he thought, vaguely amused. 'Do you mind if you could, sit closer to me?'

'Uhh— Sure.' He replied uneasily, although he rarely refused orders from his Princess, he thought this request was rather odd.

'Thank you.' She breathed as he sad beneath a neighbouring tree. 'I-Im just…'

'Yes, my Princess?'

'I'm scared…' she exhaled slowly, '… of him.' Link stiffened at this.

'My Princess, I promise you, there is nothing to be afraid of, I promise you, that ill protect you, whatever that might be from.' He saw Zelda's eyes brighten and the trace of a smile appear on her lips. 'Sleep well,' he gently stroked her hair, but only briefly, remembering his protocol.

'Link?' she called again, opening her beautiful eyes once again.

'Yes?' he replied.

'It's Zelda, not Princess.' but before Link had a chance to reply, she turned over, facing away from him, and cutting the conversation. A gradual smile appeared on Link's lips, as he tilted his head back against the tree, even if he didn't know why.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **Thank you so much for reading this :P**

 **Ok so this was a really hard chapter to write because I have so much planned which i'm literally itching to do but I feel like I need to introduce the characters a bit more... but trust me like I think everything is going to come together in the next Chapter. O and also sorry for taking so long.**

 **OK I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS THAT I GOT LIKE I DIDN'T EXPECT THIS COMMUNITY TO BE SO LIKE NICE AND IT'S REALLY NICE SO YEAH THANK YOU AND IMMA JUST REPLY TO SOME THE ANONYMOUS REVIEWS HERE:**

 **John** : Nice! You got what I feel like it is going to be like In Champion's Ballad! LOL!

Thank you :), I dont know anything about the DLC so NO SPOILERS PLEASE :P

 **Guest** : I love it! I can't find anything you need to improve on, and the plot is really interesting. And sad :(

Good work!

THANK YOU this is so positive alkdsfjlj thank you XD

 **Kersplunk** : Great start and I hope to see more, the summary caught my attention and I'm interested.

Thank you so much, I'm glad :)

 **Min** : Omg this is just so good! keep it up!

THANK YOUUU!

 **And to everyone else who made a review, i love you all so much, thank's so much for the support.**

 **BUT I DO APPRECIATE GRAMMATICAL OR CONTEXTUAL CRITICISM!**

 **THANK YOUU**


End file.
